InterCurrency gives back to the continent and the world in a variety of ways. Alone the minimal remittance fees charged and the better exchange rates offered is an important development catalyst but we do more:
1. Elimination of discrimination or mistreatment of Africans in the diaspora.
Labour and skills of Africans in the diaspora is an important resource for the continent that has seen a steady growth in signifcance in view of the recent growth in remittances as a percentage of GDP. The diaspora is an important foreign exchange earner and a key channel for technological transfer. However, stories of African (e.g. Kenyan and Eritrean but also Philippine and Indonesian) emigrant workers and au pairs being mistreated in the middle East particularly Saudi Arabia as well as Europe have featured too often in the media. This motivated the Kenyan government to set up a portal where people in distress can register: http://diasporaportal.eurocom.co.ke/index.php
a) InterCurrency facilitates regular contact with willing Africans in the diaspora to ensure that any signs of problems are picked up early enough and corrective measures sought early enough. Where necessary, regular updates are delivered to relatives of the concerned emigrant workers in the African countries in question. InterCurrency also maintains contact with the appropriate embassies and foreign affairs ministries or departments in African countries so as to ensure efficient flow of information and services as and when necessary.
InterCurrency also works with responsible departments or offices as well as willing lawyers, translators, health practitioners and airline companies in the foreign countries where Africans live or work so as to seek timely redress in cases of mistreatment or discrimination. We co-operate with the continent’s Airlines such as Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airways and South African Airways to bring Africans home in good and in bad times, alive or dead depending on how the wishes of the concerned persons.
b) Personal financial advisory services and debt counseling. Organised private counseling sessions either physically or via telephone, skype, facebook, google chat, yahoo chat or email not only for Africans but also for people from other continents.
c) Mutual assistance is natural among most Africans and this is a strength handed down to us from our ancestors. It is a conviction of InterCurrency that this strength should be preserved and developed using modern techniques and so the SACCO has been designed to include a capacity to assist in times of need. In the recent past, Africans in the diaspora have suddenly passed on or been caught in financial difficulties yet organized channels of assistance have been lacking. The SACCO is an avenue for Africans in the diaspora to make hay while the sun shines (or as the musician Samba Omar Mapangala sings in Swahili ‘vunja mifupa kama bado meno iko‘).
2. Accurate presentation of the image or reality in Africa in the international community.
a) InterCurrency has partnered with other stakeholders in the promotion of sustainable tourism via information disseminated through www.safari-cash.de. Actual and potential partners include tour guides, travel and tour operators, holiday companies, hotels, tourist resorts, zoos, animal orphanages, sanctuaries, national parks & game reserves as well as wildlife & environmental protection authorities both in Africa and in other continents.
b) Organization of and participation in cultural events, tourism promotion road shows/exhibitions and bi-national fora. Despite low levels of living in some parts of the continent, the first thing one often sees in Africa is a smile either from the people, the sun or the environment. InterCurrency informs foreigners with little, no or inaccurate knowledge about Africa and its people so that they know better before visiting, investing in, marrying from or forming prejudices about Africa.
3. Promotion of sustainable development in Africa.
Through research and dissemination of information in co-operation with its partners, InterCurrency is making an important contribution to the sustainable use of Africa’s natural and environmental resources. Sustainable development requires that the needs of the current generation are met while ensuring that future generations will also have equitable access to natural/environmental resource commodities. Resources must never be used faster than they can regenerate.
a) InterCurrency has partnered with the Heritage Hightech Center at Ndagaria in an agreement that involves finding out and disseminating state of the art information and technology in such areas as farming, education, health. construction, human rights protection environmental protection, afforestation and conflict prevention.
Communication through the website www.safari-cash.de, is designed to ensure that tourists who travel from Niagara to Ndagaria understand the potential impact of their expenditure and so such tourists can make better informed choices.
b) Through monthly investment fora organised by InterCurrency, potential investors are sensitized on the need for and benefits of sustainability considerations in investment planning and decision making. The potential investment options designed for InterCurrency’s clients always include significant sustainability aspects. Africans in the diaspora are also encouraged to form investment clubs or groups with a view to pooling resources for investment in sustainable projects of their choice. This latter aspect has seen the emergence of very promising groups of social entrepreneurs.
c) Organization of persons into savings or investment groups and mobilization of savings for use in personal, household or community development projects. Semi-annual or annual meetings are organized by InterCurrency in selected villages and urban areas in Africa and in other continents with the goal of sensitizing participants about the power of a disciplined personal savings culture and that of group investment.
d) Linking serious foreign investors with reliable partners from Africa. The young and growing African population offers immense investment opportunities in food production & value addition, Information & Communication Technology, Business Processes Outsourcing, housing & road/rail/bridge/port (infrastructure) construction, mining, health sector as well as solar energy harnessing & distribution. We link you up.
